CHICAGO (May 3, 2019) – The Loyola Ramblers finish off the regular season at home by welcoming the Northern Iowa Panthers to town for a three-game series. The battle begins with a doubleheader on Saturday (May 4) beginning at noon, and an 11 a.m. tilt on May 5. Sunday's contest will have a special pregame ceremony to honor this year's senior class, with Jordyn Cordell, Keenan Dolezal, Kiley Jones, Katie Kasubke and Brooke Wilson representing the class of 2019.
 
Last Time Out: The April 28 doubleheader split with Illinois State remains the last Loyola outing due to the scheduled game vs. DePaul getting washed out due to rain. The victory saw the visitors register nine runs on the board, seven of which came in the sixth inning or later. The win was the fifth time Loyola clubbed two home runs in a game, one of which came off the bat of Nova Sinskul. The three-run blast resulted in the freshman eclipsing 20 RBI on the campaign, marking the fifth straight season a Rambler has reached the 20-RBI benchmark her freshman year. Allyson Ivey remained hot at the plate and tallied three more hits, one of which was her eighth big fly of the season. In the circle, Kiley Jones earned the victory in game one to increase her career win total to 60, joining Brittany Gardner as the only two Ramblers to reach that total.
 
A Look at the Panthers: UNI, picked to finish third in the MVC, enter with a half-game lead over Missouri State for the No. 4-seed, but are winless in its last four Valley contests. The team is fresh off a home victory over in-state foe Iowa in a game that saw the Panthers club two home runs in the 4-2 triumph. Junior Sammy Bunch leads the team in numerous offensive categories, most notably batting average (.401), home runs (16), RBI (46), OPS (1.384) and stolen bases (14). Her .869 slugging percentage and home run total leads the MVC, and enters the weekend one of five players in the conference with a batting average north of .400.
 
Series Stuff: The Ramblers took two of three from the Panthers last season, and outscored UNI 7-0 over the course of the final two victories. Loyola has emerged victorious in four of the last five meetings, including the last two at Loyola Softball Park that ended in 1-0 decisions. UNI leads the head-to-head series at a 9-5 clip since LUC joined the MVC, and hold an all-time 14-5 advantage in a series dating back to 1992.
 
Up Next: Loyola turns its attention to the conference tournament taking place on the campus of Bradley University. The four-day showcase to determine the best in the Valley gets underway on May 9 with the No. 8 vs. No. 9-seed and No. 7 vs. No. 10-seed games. Loyola still has a shot at earning a Day One bye as the No. 6-seed, and will know after this weekend if they'll enter No. 6, 7 or 8.
 
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